理由

The Royal Palace was exactly as its name intended it to be.

It was an incredibly large and sprawling Japanese-style castle set dead in the middle of the village – which was more of a large than a village. Everything was to built to accommodate nature, rather than the other way round. Stone and wood mixed together, weaving around and into each other. Trees hung over the wide paths that people walked on, branches and leaves dangling over their heads. There were no roads, or cars, just people walking on foot or dragging along carts behind them.

Everything about the village made Pai feel as if she had taken a step back into Edo period Japan. It wasn't a bad feeling, really. It was nice to be out of the orderly, chaotic hubbub of the city for a little while.

Jarring and different, but nice.

The Palace was made from stone columns and walls, floor from a sturdy wood that could hold heavy weights. Tiled roofs were layered overhead, with chigi horns sticking out from the pointed corners at each end. It had at least six to eight floors, she guessed, from the height when still on the outside.

While walking through the halls she had looked up and seen beautiful bridges with elaborately designed arches towering over her head, stairways with railings carved into images of people with wings and flying dragons with long beards.

When she saw those images, in her mind's eye the green dragons on the wall merged together with the heart-wrenching sight of a pure white serpent screaming to the heavens amidst a raging sea of black all around it. When she blinked, the image disappeared as soon as it came. Pai was left to wonder if the white dragon was part of Kuniumi's memories, or dreams.

Right in the middle of the high ceiling far above was a skylight, a circular hole with retractable wooden flaps that could be opened and closed according to the weather, allowing sunlight and air to flood the Palace. It gave her a strange sense of openness, freedom, despite being within the many walls of the Royal Palace.

Adorning the walls hung paintings, beautiful landscapes of Japan, breath-taking visages of stories unfolding right before her eyes. Along one long length of wall was the progressive painting of the legend about the famous warrior, Minamoto no Yoshitsune. The colours were so vibrant and melding into each other that walking beside it almost felt like watching the massive work of art coming alive. Some paintings had been done directly on the walls, coalescing in well with the red and gold of the walls.

The floor was a warm brown wood, and statues stood atop podiums at many corners. They were wrought from all kinds of materials she could identify off-head; marble, wood, crystal, jade, obsidian, even gold. She was awestruck at the pure magnificence of the Royal Palace, unable to form a coherent sentence to show just how beautiful she thought it all. Kuniumi wasn't as mystified by the Palace's beauty as she was, as if she'd seen better, though she did admit that it was tasteful.

The Palace and its wonders weren't garish and forced, but rather natural and simply how it was. It looked like it had just sprung up into creation, and fit so well with where it stood that she couldn't possible imagine it anywhere else. She wondered how long it must have taken to build. It looked so well-kept that she couldn't believe it to be older than a few years.

Despite that, Shiori told her that the Royal Palace had been around for as long as there was a Sojobo to sit in it and govern the Tengu – and that was nigh on a thousand years.

The Royal Palace was where Kouta's family lived; the Royal Family, as they were known. That was Kouta himself as the Heir, his mother Misao, and his father, Sojobo Kurama. It was also where the Daitengu were supposed to live together with the Sojobo and Heir.

She knew the only reason Kouta and the other men weren't here, in Kyoto, was because Daitengu were supposed to spend the ten years after their initiation training and preparing themselves to actually be Daitengu, separate from the main village. Because Hokkaido was Tengu territory, the Daitengu trained and lived there, in Sapporo. Kouta had decided to extend their stay in Sapporo until Shiori finished her last two years of high school.

While Pai was wonderstruck but still relatively calm, Shiori was going insane with panic.

"Why are you so calm, Pai-chan? Why?"

She tilted her head to the side. "I do not understand."

"No, the better question is – how aren't you freaking out right now?"

She shook her head as she straightened the deep purple sash around her middle, smoothing out the wrinkles it made in the blue homongi she wore. She wasn't about to admit that she had asked Kuniumi to make her not feel so nervous, and made her swear not to use her body the way Kuniumi was sometimes apt to.

Whatever else Kuniumi was, she kept her promises. Pai could count on that, at the very least.

"I do not understand why I need to be freaking out."

"Because I did!" Shiori exclaimed, jumping up from leaning on the wall of Pai's guest bedroom. "I was crazy nervous and terrified to be here the first time, and you're being so calm like it's not a big deal."

She still didn't get it. It wasn't because of Kuniumi's influence, but more like she genuinely didn't understand.

"Shii-chan, what is the difference? I have been living with Daitengu in the same house for over a year now. Everyone here thinks I am a stray Tengu Kouta-sama picked up from home because of this," she reached up and tapped the pendant hanging on a red leather thong around her neck. She couldn't feel anything from it herself, but since nobody had approached her, she thought it was safe to assume that the pendant worked. "Unless I take it off, I am not in any danger of anyone finding out I am human. Why would I be scared, then?"

Shiori gaped at her cold logic, her eyes big in disbelief. She didn't seem able to comprehend Pai's total lack of emotional reaction to the fact that they had just arrived at the main village where most Tengu lived in Kyoto.

Practically the second they'd stepped off the plane, Haru and Ryosuke got the two girls in a car and drove non-stop till they reached the foot of Mount Kurama. It was a hike to get close to the peak of the mountain, just under which the main village stood.

From there, they met what Haru had called a gatekeeper, a middle-aged Tengu man who gave each of them an old coin that they had to flip into the river nearby before proceeding. Pai hadn't understood why, and thought it was all for ceremony and tradition.

It took crossing the small bridge over the river for her to realize that flipping the coin into the water gave them leave to step through a magical barrier that surrounded the village. Ryosuke explained that the coins had magic imbued in them, demonstrating that their path was a shortcut by folding a piece of paper he dug out of his pocket in half, and punching a pencil through it.

The barrier served multiple purposes. For one, it obscured human ability to sense, find, and enter the main village that stood on a large expanse of slightly sloping land that jutted out from the side of the mountain. Without the coin, humans would just keep wandering around and never find the village.

With the coin, tossing it into the river and crossing the bridge, the distance needed to travel warped and was cut in half. As soon as they stepped off the bridge, they were at the edge of the village near a small house where lived a second gatekeeper, who gave each of them another coin they could use to leave the village when they wanted to.

There was no way into the village without the coin, and it was a long, hard journey out of the village and down the mountain without it. The barrier itself prevented anyone – humans, other uninvited Ayakashi, Yori Chiisai, and Oni alike – from coming in without a coin. It was some type of magical currency, and they were used to alert gatekeepers on either side when to lower the barrier just enough for someone to get through.

Almost as soon as they received their second coins, Pai and Shiori were shepherded to the Royal Palace of Sojobo Kurama, where they would be staying with the rest of the Daitengu. It was all so fast that she didn't even get a chance to take anything of the village in, her mind addled by lack of sleep and eyes growing heavy with every step she took. They were led by two silent Tengu girls to their bedrooms in the east wing of the Palace.

Once they left their bags in their bedrooms, plain and devoid of any items of personal attachments, the walls painted red with images of dragons swimming through roaring waves in the ocean and Tengu soaring through clouds, the two girls led Pai and Shiori to onsen located somewhere in the Palace to prepare. In such a large building, clearly with hundreds of rooms, Pai knew she would get lost in it if she ever ventured out alone.

Pai wound up falling asleep as she soaked in the bath, and only woke up when Shiori shook her awake, the girls having returned to take them back to their bedrooms to get dressed. The girls gave Shiori an elegant and beautiful furisode to get dressed into, and Pai a simpler homongi that resembled the ones the girls wore themselves.

She assumed it was because, as far as everyone uninvolved was concerned, she was just a stray Tengu that Kouta picked up in Sapporo, and who was handmaiden to Shiori. She was immensely grateful that she only needed to wear the homongi, which was easy to get into and comfortable to move around in.

"Okay, fine," Shiori spluttered. "But nervous. Come on. You have to be nervous – Sojobo Kurama is the one who called for us as soon as we got here."

"I doubt that," she said. She gestured for Shiori to turn around and went to properly fix the sagging sleeve of the furisode she wore. The pale pink of the fabric mixed in well with the soft gold, and it highlighted the natural beauty that shone from Shiori. "It was probably Kouta-sama, trying to scare you for a trick, or if it was Sojobo Kurama, then he was only calling for you to meet you. There is no reason he would want to see me."

"Oh. Yeah. Right. You're probably right." Shiori breathed nervously. Her was leg was jumping up and down, ball of her foot hitting the ground repeatedly with light whumps. "He doesn't know you yet. But still, why are you so calm?"

Yes, Kuniumi crooned. Calm as the ice you were before.

Go away.

"And why do I have to wear this complicated furisode and you get to wear a homongi? It's not fair. I'll trip and die over these sleeves."

"You are exaggerating."

"I'm really not. I've never worn a furisode before."

Pai's hands fell from adjusting the final touch of the furisode, and Shiori turned to her with a nervous smile on her face. "What do you mean? You have been here before."

"Yeah, once." Shiori scoffed. "And I wasn't called to the main hall where Sojobo Kurama meets other Kings. And I wasn't given a furisode to wear for it. Last time, I just wore jeans and a t-shirt everywhere. I was literally a tourist here."

"Well, I am a visitor. Homongi is visiting wear."

"Then why don't I get to wear it, too? I'm a visitor."

"Hm..." she mumbled, crossing her arms over her chest and tapping her forefinger on her bottom lip, thinking. "Maybe it is because you are sixteen and now you are truly the Koki Sakura Hime? And you are going to live here one day?"

Shiori made a face, flaring out her nostrils. "That doesn't make me feel any better. In fact, that makes me feel like there's more pressure to act appropriately. How am I supposed to do that when I don't even know how the Koki Sakura Hime's supposed to act?" she visibly gulped. "Can I go throw myself off one of those bridges?"

"No." She said immediately. "Do you remember how excited you were to come here, Shii-chan?" she asked, watching Shiori worriedly wring her hands in front of her.

"Yeah, that was before I realized that it wouldn't be like last time. I thought we'd get to go down to see Kyoto together."

"We still will, just not as soon. You should talk to Kouta-sama," she suggested, attempting to placate her. Before Shiori could start pacing, as Pai could see she was about to, she reached over and placed her hands over Shiori's shoulders, firmly keeping her in place. "Maybe this is just one formality. Besides Shii-chan, you are going to be queen one day. Is it really that surprising that Kouta-sama's father wants to meet his future daughter-in-law?"

"This formally?" she shrilled.

"He is Sojobo." Pai pointed out. "And Kouta-sama is the Heir. There will probably be others there, so maybe it is just for appearance's sake. This is the signing of the Territory Treaties, right?"

"Yes." Shiori rolled her eyes at the obviousness.

"I am not sure, but maybe this is a political move," she reasoned. "Even though you are with Kouta-sama, the other Kings still want you for their Clans. So maybe Sojobo Kurama is hitting two birds with one stone – showing you to be Kouta-sama's future bride both protects you from them, and also shows them that the Tengu are united."

"I can no longer tell if you are trying to comfort me or just stating a fact that's meant to terrify me even more."

"Think about it this way, then," she tried. "For whatever reason it is that Sojobo Kurama called for you, it will help Kouta-sama, right? If I am right and it is to show the other Kings that you and Kouta-sama are united, then it helps him." She peered at Shiori. "Does that make you feel better?"

She nodded hesitantly. "A bit." She held up her hand and pinched the air between her thumb and forefinger. "Just a teensy-weensy bit, so don't get full of yourself."

Pai rolled her eyes. "I would not dream of it. Now come on, we do not want to keep Sojobo Kurama and anyone else who might be there waiting."

Shiori swore colourfully under her breath. "I am going to kill Kouta for not warning me about this."

×

Shiori almost ran away as soon as they stopped in front of the huge double doors leading into the Matsu-No-Ma, the throne room where Kurama received high-status and official guests, in the west wing of the Palace.

The two girls accompanying them everywhere stopped them to inform that only Shiori was permitted to enter. Pai assured her multiple times that as soon as she was through, Pai would be right there waiting for her. She had to talk Shiori down, calm her, enough that she wasn't breathing like a horse after a race. Even then she could tell that Shiori was desperately wishing she was anywhere else in the whole world.

As Pai walked to the window to look out over the courtyard, she could feel the eyes of the two girls watching her. They didn't say anything, remaining mute as they stood by each other next to the door, waiting. She had no idea what they were waiting for. Maybe for Shiori to come out, and lead her and Pai to wherever it was they had to go next.

Or maybe they were curious about this orphaned Tengu stray that their Heir had picked up in Sapporo.

They didn't say anything to her, for all intents and purposes acting like she didn't exist. Pai thought to ask their names, but she couldn't even bring herself to open her mouth. She could only bob her head in an awkward nod of greeting as she passed them to go to the window. From there she could easily see out to the portion of the village within the walls of the Palace.

There were so many people crowding around the multitude of buildings – all built plainly, yet holding a distinct air of civility mixed in with the surrounding nature – that her stomach was in a constant warring state of heat that made her palms damp. Even though a high wall was built around the Royal Palace, separating the Palace from the rest of the village, she knew from Haru's chattering that people from the village regularly came to the Palace to attend various festivals and other functions organized by the administration. There was even a music hall, somewhere.

Most of the people outside wore simple warmer yukatas , even though they didn't really have to since they weren't human and didn't need to ward off the perpetual chill of living on a mountain. A few were dressed in mundane civilian wear. Small children ran about through the streets, and on their backs were small wings that flapped about as they ran. They looked just like the kids back home in Ayashi House.

She wondered where they were now, if they were safe and comfortable and happy. Though the children had dark wings on their backs, none of the older ones did. Pai wondered why.

The air was filled with the sounds of people chattering excitedly to one another, and the pungent smell of food being cooked for the evening meal wafted through the air, making her mouth water. It was late afternoon, and the relative heat of the sun was lessening as it started to fall down the sky. Her stomach grumbled as she breathed in deep, taking in the scents lingering in the wind. All she'd eaten was two sandwiches on the plane, and the bread had been more watery than anything else.

Every single person out there is Tengu. She thought, swallowing around a thick cotton ball lodged in her throat. The fact that other Hengen would be arriving later in the night, and tomorrow as well, did nothing to make her feel much better.

So?

I've never been around so many Ayakashi in one place before.

You live with Daitengu.

That's different.

Not that much.

Enough to make a difference.

She propped her elbows up on the gilded frame of the window and put her chin in her hand, looking out at all the hustle and bustle. People-watching – or in this case Hengen-watching – was a much better alternative to standing by the two girls behind her, all tense and awkward. At least now she had an excuse to follow something with her eyes than to do nothing.

She was curious about the girls, but too shy to ask their names, especially considering that she wasn't even really Tengu. What if they asked her something she couldn't answer? From Kouta's words she knew that he hadn't let anyone know that she wasn't Tengu. If they asked her something and she answered wrong, she might get him in trouble.

Her stomach growled, loudly demanding better sustenance than two watery sandwiches. She pressed a hand to it, promising herself that as soon as she could, she would eat to her stomach's content.

"Sounds like someone's hungry."

Pai, jumping in surprise, quickly spun around when she heard Daichi's voice. He stood behind her, wearing a dark green kimono with black stripes. Surprisingly, the glasses he always wore were now pushed up over his head like they were sunglasses. He looked quite different without them on, his orange-amber eyes brighter than before, the angles of his face more easily seen with his hair ruffled and spiked, as if he had just woken up.

"Oh, hi Daichi-san," she said. A relieved smile broke out of her before she could think to stop it. She was grateful it was just Daichi rather than some random person she would be too afraid and awkward to talk properly to.

"Hey. How's everything going?"

"Uh...well, Shii-chan is more nervous than a squirrel being confronted by a person's foot, but I think she will be okay. Eventually." She added as an afterthought. "Maybe."

Daichi laughed. She saw the two girls glancing at each other in surprise over his shoulder. "Interesting analogy. She's in there now, is she?"

She nodded. "She wanted to run away, but I stopped her."

Daichi chuckled. "This is the first time something like this is happening. Come, walk with me." He gestured for her to join him and turned around. She quickly picked up her pace to match his longer-legged one as they began walking down the hall, passing the two girls who remained standing at the doors.

She asked after he'd smiled politely at the girls and continued, "Do you know why?"

"Political reasoning, I expect." He replied, instantly knowing what she was talking about. "Sojobo Kurama and Kouta are there, but so are the Ookami, Kitsune, and Nue Kings. The others should be arriving later tonight."

Her steps faltered briefly. Kitsune...Kagetora is here.

Kage-chan, Kage-chan, Kage-chan's here! Kuniumi squealed in a falsetto voice. There was a tremulous cheer running in an undercurrent in her voice.

'Kage-chan'? You know him?

Kuniumi laughed throatily. More than you.

They turned a corner and came across a young boy Pai could easily tell worked in the Royal Palace as a servant, from his simply yet very clean clothes, as well as from the basket he carried in his hands. He seemed to be just a little older than herself, if not the same age. He bowed respectfully to Daichi, who returned the bow with a simple inclination of his head.

If she had never before, she could now see the difference in status between the Daitengu and other Tengu.

She said once they passed the boy, "Where is everyone?"

"Shin and Shouta are with Kouta in there," he nodded back to the room Shiori was trapped in. He lifted his hands and dropped one finger for every person he mentioned. "Haru went to see his family, they came over from Aomori. Jirou and Mizutani are with their aunt and uncle, Yukiji is with her in-laws, Ryosuke is with his friend, Kaede's with his family, and Yuu...not too sure."

"How come you are not in there? I thought you were Kouta-sama's second-in-command."

He shook his head. "Oh no, no that's Shin. He tricked me into being the one who had to meet the other Kings with Kouta and his father last year, but this time round, he has to deal with it himself. Unless, of course, he fobs it off on someone else."

Oh, she thought, deflating a little. She wanted to see Shin, longed to, even if it was only a glimpse. Guess I won't be able to since he'll be busy.

"Really?" she asked. "He does not like it?"

"He hates it. He finds it all hypocritical and just for show." Daichi corrected with an indulgent smile. "One thing you should know about him is that he might look like the stoic and mysterious type, but he's a bit of a trickster. He uses that Ability of his to play pranks on the others. Except me." He added smugly.

"Why not you?" she asked, smiling at the thought of Shin pranking his friends and fellow comrades. It made her feel warm to know there was a joker side to him. She wished that she could see that side to him.

Remembering their conversation in the car when he drove her home, she blushed and ducked her head behind her dyed black hair falling loose down her shoulders.

"His Ability is invisibility, but mine is sight," he tapped his temple. "I can see anything for a hundred kilometres around me. Unfortunately for him, I can see him when he's invisible as well."

She looked up at him, dumbfounded, mouth hanging agape in surprise. She had never actually asked him what his Ability was, and to find out now, and what it was, and to just what extent it reached, caught her unawares.

"Seriously? You can see anything for that far out?" he nodded. "Then why do you wear glasses?"

"Because I'm like Kaede and Haru with my Ability." He explained. "Kaede can't limit how much he hears, and Haru needs to wear piercings as added security to his Mask otherwise it's too easy for him to lose control of his fire and True Ayakashi. My glasses were spelled by a witch-woman who lives here, so that I don't get headaches from seeing too much. The sunlight is much brighter for me than others, among other things."

"Oh," she said, finally understanding. If the sun seemed too bright for her sometimes, she couldn't imagine what it would be like for Daichi, who couldn't turn off his Ability. "The same woman who made Haru-san's piercings?"

"Yes, her. Manase-san." He glanced at her with an eyebrow raised. "He told you about that?"

She nodded. "Why are you not wearing your glasses now?"

"The barrier around us," he said. He waved his hand around in indication of the barrier around the village. "It gives me more control. Same goes for Kaede."

"And Haru-san?" she asked. "He can go without his piercings now?"

He shook his head. "No. His case is rather unique. He needs to keep them on if he wants to remain in control. My and Kaede's problems came with the Abilities we developed because of being Daitengu. Haru's issue is ingrained in him. I think he's grown fond of the piercings now, though. In fact, I think he likes them. Gives him the air of a 'bad boy', I assume."

"You are probably right." She agreed, recalling Haru's devilish smirks, dark eyes glinting blithely behind the lenses of his glasses.

"You know, you're very good at deflecting questions about yourself." He commented, placing his hands in the opposite sleeves of his yukata. "How are you doing?"

"Sorry," she mumbled, eyes sliding down to her sandals. She wiggled her toes in her tabi socks before looking up. "I am a little nervous . This is my first time in a place like this."

"Can't say I'm surprised. You've never been around this many Ayakashi before, have you?"

See? Even Daichi understands.

Then you are both being stupid.

"No," she replied to him, resisting the urge to roll her eyes at Kuniumi's blunt tone. "But even so, I am glad that I could come. It is interesting to see how your people live."

"Really?" he remarked contemplatively.

They turned another corner, and for a second all she could do was follow a magnificent jade statue of a man with wings flaring out behind him with her eyes as they passed it. She twisted her head right around to keep staring at the incredible detail of the chiselled jade before she returned her attention to Daichi. She was pretty sure she'd seen a mole warble on the statue man's nose.

"Maybe to you it is not that big of a deal, but to me – I know that you are Ayakashi, but even then it all looks so normal."

Daichi gave her a mocking look. "Did you think we'd have horns and be flying around everywhere with noses longer than our arms?"

As soon as the words were out of his mouth, a comical image of a red-skinned Daichi with an elongated nose, huge black wings flaring out at his back, a massive beaded necklace round his neck, and wielding a shakujo, the staff Tengu were regularly depicted carrying, popped up in her mind. She stifled the full-blown laughter that bubbled out of her by clapping her hands to her mouth, and instead only a giggle came out. Daichi smiled down at her when she laughed.

Her stomach decided to give out a long, loud grumble of discontent right at that moment. It was getting increasingly impatient at being kept from the food she'd promised it.

"Oops," she murmured apologetically, pressing a hand to her stomach. "Sorry. The sandwiches on the plane were not that good."

"I'd be surprised if they were." Daichi chortled. "Do you want to go get something to eat?"

She glanced up at him, her stomach already rumbling lowly with hope and anticipation. But..."What about Shii-chan? I promised I would be here when she gets out."

"Don't worry, we'll be back in plenty of time."

"Is it not too early for dinner?" she peeked at her wristwatch, a piece of modernity she'd stubbornly kept despite feeling like she had stepped into a private, secluded alcove that was separate from the rest of the world. "It is only four o'clock."

"Not where we're going." He said, a half-smile lighting his lips.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

"You'll see." He replied mysteriously.

A coil of nervous anxiety tightened in her stomach as she looked ahead and saw they were approaching the massive double doors. They were easily sixteen feet tall, frames gilded and elaborate designs carved into the wood that led to the world outside of the Royal Palace.

The doors were wide open, with attendants rushing in and out carrying various items. Some were women and girls, arms laden with bed sheets and a variety of other clothe materials. The men lugged around baggage – presumably from the influx of Ayakashi guests entering the village – potted plants with leaves and flowers bigger than she had ever seen, and other things.

For some reason, just at that moment she remembered something she had wanted to ask Daichi for a while, but kept forgetting to. She wondered if Kuniumi had anything to do with why she was forgetting to ask it all the time, because she knew that the question wouldn't continuously fly from her mind every time she thought of it since it concerned her so much.

"Daichi-san, can I ask you a question?"

"Shoot."

"Is Yuu-san all right? I mean, he has not seemed like himself for a while now. I was wondering if he was okay."

Ever since he'd fought Shinigami in the Torimaku, she'd wondered if Yuu had been otherwise affected by what happened. He'd healed from all his physical injuries at the remarkably fast rate the Ayakashi normally did, but he still hadn't been quite himself. The usual Yuu was often grouchy and intensely sarcastic (that even Ryosuke couldn't beat), but since the Torimaku, he'd been more...tame.

As they walked through the doors, every single person around her bowed respectfully to Daichi – and by extension, her as well. She returned with a bow of her own and Daichi with a simple nod of his head. She thought he looked remarkably cool and collected, just like the sort of man he was.

He did look different without his glasses, and his hair was mussed in an oddly stylish way. From the lingering gazes of the girls and women he passed, she knew that it was a good different. She wondered if he ever considered having a family of his own, though she was too embarrassed to ask him.

There was a market set up within the boundary walls of the Palace. Men and women stood at stalls selling all kinds of wares – from fruits and vegetables to clothes and jewellery, watches, pieces of immaculately made woodwork like tables and other furniture, little clay and ivory statues.

No cars lined the streets, with wagons used to ferry people's things around if it proved too much to carry by hand. There were so many people around, so much heat pooling in her stomach, that the chill of the mountain was chased away into oblivion. She wasn't too hot though, thanks to the cold that followed her everywhere, cold she had come to associate with Kuniumi.

Pai couldn't tell if everyone was Tengu or if there were other Ayakashi already intermingling with the crowd. There were some cats and dogs racing through the streets under and around the legs of everyone there, but she couldn't even tell if they were Ayakashi shifted to their animal forms, or if they were just pets.

She wondered how many Tengu usually lived in the main village. With how many buildings there were – including what she spied as houses built in the trees, on sturdy branches and blending in with the leaves – and the sheer size of the Palace, she guessed that there had to be close to a thousand (maybe two) who permanently lived here.

It amazed her that the barrier surrounding the place was strong enough to obscure the presence of such a huge settlement. The barrier was even strong enough to keep unwanted people out, though, with how big Mount Kurama was, she didn't think it would be too difficult for the magic in the barrier to confuse and send people away from accidentally infringing.

"He'll be fine," Daichi said assuredly. "It's just that some things Shin's True Ayakashi said to him have been weighing him down." He glanced down at her. "Do you remember? Yuu said you were there early enough to hear most of it."

Regretfully, she shook her head. She'd poked and prodded at Kuniumi for weeks, but she refused to let Pai see what happened in the Torimaku. In fact, Pai had grown a little scared of venturing into the topic with Kuniumi. A darkness tainted the space between them, lingering in the edges of Pai's senses, pressing down on her with a burdensome depression, whenever she did ask.

It wasn't pleasant, and definitely not something she wanted to feel seeping into her, strangling her every waking moment.

"I do not remember anything, still." She muttered darkly.

"Don't worry about it." He said. "You eventually will."

I'm not too sure about it, she thought as he continued.

"Yuu's been down lately because what Shin's True Ayakashi said to him struck a nerve." He paused. "Shouta told you about what happened nine years ago, right?"

"Yes," she said. Even though her sleeves were long, she instinctively pressed her arm closer to her side, remembering that Daichi's deceased little sister had the same birthmark she had on the inside of her elbow. "The Kitsune's attack."

"Yeah. You've seen that the only way to find this place," he gestured around himself to the bustle of everyone around him. "Is the coin given by the gatekeepers."

She frowned as she listened, noticing the discrepancy. If the only way in was with the coin, how did a force large enough to attack the Tengu and bring them to near decimation enter?

"Ninetail Kitsune have many powers, some bordering on fantastical, but none the less real for it. One of those powers is the ability to wilfully manifest visages of themselves in the dreams of others. They can drive people mad with it. Do you understand so far?" he asked.

She nodded, stomach coiling tighter as her mind raced ahead with what he was saying.

He went on. "Yuu's father was a gatekeeper, one of those who regularly went out on patrols around the perimeter of the village. While he was out on duty one day, a Kitsune grabbed him and took him back to where the Ueno's were. What they did to him was strong enough to get Yuu's father to steal enough coins to let in large batches of their force in at a time, including a ninetails strong enough to tamper with our barrier so as not to let us escape."

Pai was speechless. Shouta had described – vividly – what happened that night, but somehow, knowing that the Kitsune's had gone to this extent to attack the Tengu stunned her. She didn't know what to say. Even Kuniumi lay silent and dormant inside her, watching and listening but saying and giving out nothing in return.

She swallowed around the cotton ball stuck in her throat and asked, "Wh – what did Shini – did Shin-san's Makashi say to him?"

"Makashi?" Daichi repeated. He turned to her in surprise, halting. "Where did you hear that word?"

She frowned in bafflement at his words. Come to think of it, where had she heard the term before? Saying it had been reflexive, as if it was just any word. Clearly, from Daichi's reaction, he was surprised to hear it coming out of her mouth.

That is an ancient name for them. Makashi are True Ayakashi. It is a name that faded into time very long ago. Makashi is for those who are free from that which chains them. True Ayakashi are those that remain jailed.

How do I know that word?

Maybe from us. She replied. She sounded tired, unlike the usual mad buoyancy she bounced around with. Who knows? We no longer do.

"Uh..." she trailed off. "I think – I heard it somewhere. It just popped into my head. Is there something wrong with it?"

"Huh," he murmured as they resumed walking. "There's nothing wrong. It's just not a word used very often. Not by humans, at any rate." He sighed heavily as he tipped his head back to look at the clear blue sky overhead, dotted with white cotton-candy clouds. "His True Ayakashi blamed Yuu for what happened nine years ago. Called him a traitor's son."

"What? But that – that is not true," she exclaimed with shock. "Why would he say something like that? He is not his father."

"I know. The problem is, others aren't too sure. Just before the attack, Yuu's father locked his family in their house. They were stuck in there while the fighting was going on. It's how they survived. Some of the more ignorant people here think that his father was enough in his own mind to tell Sojobo Kurama what was going to happen, yet he didn't."

She hated herself for having to ask the question. "Was he?"

Daichi shook his head. "No. He wasn't. Keeping his family locked in was more of an instinctual, reflexive thing for him to do, I think. Yuu told me, a while ago, that he overheard his mother speaking to an investigator from the Palace about what happened. His father was aware of what he was doing, and he managed to tell his wife that there were triggers planted in him by the Ueno's. If he tried to go to the Sojobo, he would have been dead before he could set foot in the Palace. The consequences of what happened drove him to commit seppuku a few days after."

"Why would anyone think that his father was a real traitor then?" she asked, incensed that people would still be so cruel as to believe such a thing. "Traitors would not kill themselves when they know they have done something wrong."

"The results of investigations like these aren't announced to the public." He replied, a hint of sadness tracing his voice.

"But why?"

"If they were, there would be the possibility of rogue Tengu lashing out at the Kitsune. It would start another war, which is something all the Kings fought hard to avoid after the Kitsune's attack. Last time we had a war, half of our population was wiped out and the human world was left in near ruins. The only reason Tengu can stand Kitsune now is because they've proved that those who followed the Ueno's were executed. It helped that Kagetora-san killed Airi in front of the other Kings and Tasuku in front of us. It showed that not all were with the Ueno's, though it's taken a long time for us to get anywhere close to trusting them."

Maintain the balance, Kuniumi whispered, her vanilla-scented breath brushing over the curve of Pai's ear. She felt a coldness drape itself around her shoulders, as if Kuniumi had wrapped her arms around her in a frigid embrace that had her heart stuttering. Much as he hates to do it, Kagetora does his job well, don't you think?

I don't know what you're talking about.

Kuniumi laughed, dark crystals breaking, smashing against walls. If only you knew Touka, maybe you wouldn't be so confused all the time? If only you remembered, maybe you wouldn't be so lost all the time?

If you're not going to make me remember like I know you can, she snapped as she dragged her attention back to Daichi. Shut up.

He was saying, oblivious to the silent argument she was having whilst listening to him, "But don't be mistaken, Pai-chan. Nobody blames Yuu for what happened – he broke out of his house and fought like a madman, right until the end, when his Ability awakened. He became a Daitengu along with the rest of us when it happened. The burden Yuu carries is one he placed on himself, and Shin's True Ayakashi only seems to have driven him further into himself. Shin talked to him, after everything settled down, but I'm not sure it worked. I think," he sighed, shaking his head morosely. "That the only one who can relieve him of that burden is himself."